English KS1 / KS2: The Falcon's Malteser' by Anthony Horowitz

Actors Scott Haran and Percelle Ascott read extracts from 'The Falcon's Malteser' by Anthony Horowitz as part of the 'Bringing Books to Life' series.

They explain why they love the book and share how it captured their imaginations.

We watch as Scott and Percelle become detectives, exploring the world of the book quite literally as they are plunged into a realm of criminals, gangsters, and even crocodiles!

They introduce the story of a pair of detective brothers entrusted with a box of chocolate worth three and half a million pounds.

As the brothers are chased by some of the scariest villains in the world the owner of the box of chocolates turns up dead.

It looks like the brothers now have a mystery to solve.

Teacher Notes

This clip is useful as a stimulus to think about detectives and spies, perhaps looking at famous detectives and spies from well known literature such as Sherlock Holmes and James Bond.

The children could design their own spy gadgets which could provide opportunities to explore a range of writing styles, including instructional and persuasive writing.

Children could explore the characters in the story, leading to the children writing their own character descriptions or follow on work from the existing characters, such as creating a wanted poster for 'The Fat Man' or writing an alligator pet guide for the Widow.

This clip can be used in illustrating the work of classic children's authors that children may not discover on their own, to encourage viewers to explore and develop their own taste in books and to highlight the huge range of reading experiences available to young people.

It could also be used as a springboard to talk about the concepts of crime and punishment and also as a discussion starter on friendship and teamwork.

Curriculum Notes

These clips are suitable for teaching English and Literacy at Key Stage 1, 1st Level, Key Stage 2 and 2nd Level.